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STAFF REPORT CONCERNING APPLICATION FOR A CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS Application Number: Property Location: Property Owner: 2001-0102 12768 Dragoon Trail Mary Leslie Landmark or District Designation: Rating: C/10 LL STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE/HISTORIC CONTEXT Gary Buttles, who purchased the land from William Mason in 1878, built this structure in 1880. Mr. Mason was a prominent farmer in St. Joseph County and later moved to Mishawaka where he became a grocer. Mr. Buttles owned the property until 1882 when he sold it to J.H. Pulling, who in turn sold it three years later to Archa Mason. Archa was the son of the original landowner, William Mason. Archa Mason was born in 1853; he married Ella Laidlow in 1874 and had a son. Mr. Mason was a well-known and highly respected young businessman in Mishawaka. He was becoming very successful in the Real Estate business when he died of a heart attack in 1891 at age 38. However, Archa had sold this property back in 1887 to James Cook. James Cook was one of the best-known farmers in St. Joseph County in the late 1800's and early 1900's. He was born in New York in 1829 to Mr. & Mrs. Arthur Cook, a veteran of the War of 1812. James married Abigail Smith and moved to Mishawaka with his four sons and one daughter in 1834 where he purchased 240 acres of land at the government price of 10 shillings an acre. It is unclear when exactly the building became a school; the only record is the 1909 atlas showing the building to be a school. Upon Mr. Cooks death the property was inherited by his son, Fred J. Cook. Fred Cook was born in 1866 and married Zellah Mumby in 1913; together they had two sons and one daughter. Mr. Cook was elected Penn township trustee in 1904 and St. Joseph County Commissioner in 1924 and 1928. Fred was a farmer for many years, eventually retiring and moving to 913 Lincolnway East. In 1916 Penn Township Schools consolidated and all small schoolhouses ceased to be used. - Over the next several years the structure was used as a residence, dance hall and hair salon. Mr. Cook eventually sold the property to Harmi Hulbert around 1924. Harmi Hulbert was born in 1879, moving to Penn Township in 1924. He married Mary Beatty in 1908 and had a son, Harmi Jr., and a daughter, Mary Catherine. Mr. Hulbert was eventually killed in a car accident on his way to work at a WPA project at the South Bend Regional Airport. He had previously sold the property to Warren Leslie.